Wine, countryside and leisure: these are the pillars on which the philosophy of Monte la Reina, the Inajara family winery located just under ten kilometres from the town of Toro in Zamora, Spain, is based. A magical place that attracts by its beauty and that is a guarantee of success if chosen for the celebration of any event, as well as a reference of elegance, modernity and versatility.
Monte la Reina owes its name to a royal concession granted to Toro in the 11th century by the Crown of Castile in gratitude for its loyalty and support. A privilege granted to the people by which they acquired permission to exploit the forest. Eight centuries later, the count of Villapadierna built a neo-Gothic palace on the estate, which now houses the Posada Real.
A leap in time takes us back to 1983, when the current owners appeared. It was in this year that the Valladolid farmer José Miguel Inajara de la Calle acquired the property and renovated the palace as a family residence, and subsequently began the construction of the complex that we can enjoy today.
Supported by the boom that was taking place in the Toro D.O. and the arrival of their wines on the international market, they decided to also dedicate themselves to viticulture, planting vines on the Monte la Reina estate. The first harvests of grapes were destined to be sold to other wineries in the appellation, until they decided to go for their own project and built a winery to make their own wines, the first vintage was released in 2004.
Pioneers of wine tourism in the area, the next step was to open the restaurant, one of the largest in the province, and to decorate it with incredible gardens, and transforming the family residence into a boutique hotel and now Posada Real.
Monte la Reina occupies an area of 1,400 hectares, 300 of which are dedicated to vineyards, as well as fields with different crops, the restaurant, the castle where the hotel is located and the winery, which is integrated into the surrounding landscape.
Transgressive and avant-garde wines
A forerunner in the production of Verdejo in the Toro and Alfoz region, Monte la Reina is one of the most important references in the Toro D.O. for its red wines. A very personal, family-run winery, designed with the utmost care and attention to detail, It stands out for seeking differentiation based on a more modern style of winemaking.
The 300 hectares of vineyards are spread over two estates, Finca Monte la Reina and Finca Villaester de Arriba. Of this surface area, 200 hectares are dedicated to Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo) and 100 to Verdejo grapes. They also have a small plot of Chardonnay which they use to produce sparkling wines.
As a curiosity, the sandy soil of the area prevented the spread of the phylloxera that devastated Europe at the end of the 19th century, so they can boast of having some of the oldest vineyards in Spain, more than 100 years old, and whose grapes are used for the production of high quality wines.
With the Tinta de Toro they make six red wines that are characterised by their intense aroma and colour, the young wines being fresh, structured and with a great intensity of colour typical of the area, while the barrel-aged wines have pleasant nuances of ripe fruit, roasted and toasted touches that come from the barrel ageing. On the other hand, with the Verdejo grape they make two white wines that are characterised by being intense, fruity and vibrant wines with aromas of pineapple or apple, typical of this variety, but in this case, in a more mature version, providing volume in the mouth and resulting in powerful and structured wines with a long and persistent finish.
The catalogue of proposals from Monte la Reina is completed with the sparkling wine Claudia, intense in aromas and a sparkling bubble that provides natural sweetness and pleasant acidity; the Frizzantes, wines with low alcohol content, very fruity, fresh and balanced, but with a higher amount of residual sugars that provide a pleasant sweetness accompanied by a sweet finish and finally, the Sangria and the Tinto de Verano Premium. with natural fruity aromas and a delicate bubble that make them refreshing, tasty and fun.
A large, avant-garde building that resembles a camera in which the viewfinder, flash and shutter release can be identified and houses the wine cellar. Designed in this way by Jesús Juárez because he considered that the landscape offered by Monte la Reina is so magical that it is worth photographing it every day. It is built with noble and natural materials, in harmony with nature and semi-buried in the hill, with the aim of perfectly combining aesthetics and technical purposes, achieving a good temperature inside the different rooms.
Carolina Inajara, the youngest winemaker of the Toro D.O.
“Thanks to wine I have learned to be happier, to live with passion, to understand better who I am and how far I can go. Wine is more than a food, it is a product that crosses borders to be always in the best moments of people’s lives. Wine generates sensations, awakens feelings. It teaches you the values of a land, takes you to a country, lets you taste a climate. It is the subject of many conversations. It fills photos and attracts followers. It blends in with fashions, but never loses its tradition”. This is the passion with which Carolina expresses herself when she talks about wine. Passion and meticulousness that he puts into his work on a daily basis, he likes to be present in all the winemaking processes and with the collaboration of his right-hand man, the oenologist José Nuño, he seeks the wine excellence of this land.
A member of what is known as the “wine generation zero”, Carolina is the first of the family to dedicate herself professionally to winemaking -her two brothers are involved in other tasks, she focusing on events and he on agriculture-. She has a degree in Business Administration and Management and Market Techniques Research from the San Pablo CEU University, has a level 3 Wine & Spirit Education Trust qualification and is an expert in Wine Business Management from the Valladolid Chamber of Commerce. Throughout this time she has worked in different positions in the company, in the accounting department, the wine bottling process and the sales department, forming her own team, until 2012 when she took over the reins of the winery as director.
Ecotourism experiences in Monte la Reina
Monte la Reina invites you to step through its doors, enter its cellar and discover all its secrets with the different ecotourism experiences. The options are varied and can be enjoyed by everyone, families with children, couples or groups of friends.
Aromas and Essences Experience: Visit to the winery and tasting of two wines. Visit to the vineyards and the winery accompanied by a member of the team to discover the curiosities of the wines and the history of the winery, learn to distinguish the stages of analysis of a professional tasting and taste two wines, one white and one red.
Tasting for children (non-alcoholic). Visit to the vineyards and the winery accompanied by a member of the team with explanations adapted to children and a workshop in which they will experiment with their five senses and they will taste different products to get to know and differentiate the smell and taste of each type of wine.
Tradition and Technology Experience: Visit to the winery, wine tasting and tasting of three wines. Visit to the vineyards and the winery accompanied by one of our oenologists, discovering the most technical side of their elaborations, the curiosities of the wines and the history of the winery and professional tasting of three of their best wines.
Open-air picnic anywhere on the estate. Basket consisting of a snack; savoury, sweet… and everything you need to enjoy a wonderful evening with your family, your partner or a group of friends. and of course, their delicious wines, to choose between white and red.
In addition, the excellence, care and advice of their team of professionals guarantee the success of any event they organise.
A neo-Gothic palace converted into a comfortable hotel
What was once the family residence was converted a few years ago into a boutique hotel and Posada Real. With a décor that perfectly combines avant-garde and contemporary elements, it has eight rooms, some equipped with king-size beds or hydromassage bathtub and all of them with organic amenities. Outside, there is a magnificent swimming pool where you can relax and cool off in summer. Furthermore, Monte la Reina is a Dog Friendly establishment -for dogs up to 10 kilograms, for other weights please consult-, so your pet will be welcome. And if your means of transport is electric, the accommodation has charging stations.
The kitchen has an “Honesty Bar” with different snacks and wines available for guests to enjoy an aperitif whenever they wish. With the Vega del Duero before our eyes we can enjoy the restaurant’s delicious gastronomy, in which the high quality raw materials and a touch of creativity surprise diners. Traditional Castilian gastronomy that has been taken to another level, where typical cuisine and the most modern techniques are fused to achieve original flavours.
